LOS ANGELES — Some of the factors behind the Yankees sinking into a 0-2 hole versus the Dodgers were foreseeable.
Carlos Rodón has had rough getaways this postseason, and he had another one Saturday in Game 2 of the World Series. At least a couple of Yankees gamers have hadahardtime defensively all year, and those repeat transgressors revealed up onceagain this weekend at Chavez Ravine. The routine season consistently included bad production from the bottom of New York’s lineup, and that was a issue in each of the veryfirst 2 videogames of the Series.
But none of those elements are as ostentatious as the greatest one — the one that the Yankees appear unprepared to gottenridof.
[RELATED: Full coverage of the World Series]
Aaron Judge is lost at the plate.
He’s striking out more frequently than he’s getting on base. He’s chasing pitches he would generally watch fly out of the zone. He’s rocking back and forth in the batter’s box — which, according to Yankees striking coach James Rowson, indicates he’s attempting to discover his rhythm — rather than standing frozen and locked in like he did throughout his record-breaking routine season. He’s whiffing at errors that he would generally penalize for home runs.
Simply put, he’s not doing his task.
And when the Yankees are desperate for offense, like they haveactually been in this star-studded Fall Classic, and one of the finest players on the world isn’t doing his task, the results are back-to-back losses versus an elite Dodgers group that hasactually beat them in every element of the videogame.
“I certainly gotta action up,” Judge stated after going 0-for-4 with 3 strikeouts in the Yankees’ 4-2 loss Saturday. “I gotta do my task, when guys are out there doing their task getting on base, I’m stoppingworking them. I’m not support them up.”
The 2 other stars in the Yankees’ lineup have strike throughout October, and are practically the just ones doing so in the Fall Classic.
Juan Soto is locked in at the plate; his solo shot in the 3rd inning of Game 2 was the Yankees’ just hit off Dodgers starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto. Soto’s liner off the right field wall in the ninth inning was simply the 2nd hit of the night for New York, and quickly he scored its just other run when Giancarlo Stanton followed with a scorcher down the left field line.
Sandwiched inbetween the 2 rockets? Judge’s 6th strikeout of the Series.
Soto now has 4 home runs, 9 RBIs and a 1.160 OPS through 11 videogames this postseason. Stanton has 6 home runs, 14 RBIs and a 1.098 OPS. Judge, ontheotherhand, is batting .150 (6-for-40) with 19 strikeouts, 2 homers, 6 RBIs and a .605 OPS.
“I think he made errors versus me,” Soto stated of dealingwith Yamamoto, who struck out Judge twotimes. “He made a couple of excellent pitches in the veryfirst at-bat, and then he revealed me whatever. He revealed me whatever that he got in my veryfirst at-bat. So I was prepared for anything in my 2nd at-bat. He made a error and I simply didn’t missouton it.”
Soto, permanently rupturing with self-confidence, appears to have the playoffs all figured out. What’s stopping Judge from attaining comparable tasks?
“Right now, he’s mostlikely not sensation his finest,” Soto stated. “It’s simply a hard minute for him right now.”
The Yankees captain acknowledged he’s been broadening the strike zone, as the first-rate plate discipline that permitted him to draw the most strolls (133) in the significant leagues this year has left him. He included that his mechanics at the plate are “getting there,” and that his motivating at-bats at the end of Game 1 didn’t equate into Game 2. Judge stated the hasahardtime he’s going through at the plate right now are “a little comparable” to the hasahardtime he dealtwith in April, when he began the year in a depression, slashing .207/.340/.414 through his veryfirst 31 videogames.
But the distinction at this time of the year is that he doesn’t have the cushion of a long season ahead of him to get his mechanics aligned out. Judge has to make every pitch in the Bronx count, if not with a huge hit, then at least a walk. The presumptive AL MVP keptinmind that Yamamoto offered him a pitch to hit in the 6th inning, when he was ahead in the count 2-0 and the Dodgers righty tossed him a fastball down and in.
That’s a pitch, Judge stated, that he’s normally able to link on. Instead, he kept his bat on his shoulder and viewed it settle unblemished for strike one.
“At times you desire to shot to make things takeplace rather of letting the videogame come to you,” Judge stated. “I think that’s what it actually comes down to. You see Gleyber [Torres] out there on base, Juan’s getting on base, attempting to make something occur. You’re not going to get every pitch in the zone. So you have to take your strolls and set up for Big G [Stanton].”
Judge puts a lot of pressure on himself to come through for his group. It’s neverever been about individual data for the six-time All-Star. What he cares about most is lifting the Yankees when they requirement him to — and they’ve relied on Judge throughout his profession to come through in the clutch duetothefactthat, usually, he can. While Soto and Stanton are doing their parts, the American League champs still requirement Judge to be Judge if they’re going to be world champs.
“He’s got time to aid us win some videogames,” Stanton stated.
Sure, however not much. Judge has to figure out a method to sluggish the videogame down so that he can compress the zone and tap back into the plate discipline and power that make him one of the biggest players of this generation.
The Yankees eventually cannot increase without him.
Deesha Thosar is an MLB pressreporter for FOX Sports. She formerly covered the Mets as a beat pressreporter for the New York Daily News. The child of Indian immigrants, Deesha grew up on Long Island and now lives in Queens. Follow her on Twitter at @DeeshaThosar.
[Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account, follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily.]
Get more from Major League Baseball Follow your favorites to get details about videogames, news and more